Subclass 191
Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa
The pathway from the provisional 491 or 494 to Australian permanent residence. Three years of compliant regional residence. Three ATO Notices of Assessment. No minimum income threshold under current criteria.
The Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa is the permanent residence outcome of the regional provisional pathway. Holders of the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa and the Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa become eligible for the 191 after three years of compliant residence, work, and study in a designated regional area.
The 191 became available on 16 November 2022, three years after the introduction of the 491 and 494. Applications are now mature and the Department processes them as a defined pathway with established documentary requirements.
The 191 has no minimum income threshold under current criteria. The substantive requirement is documentary: three ATO Notices of Assessment covering income years during the regional provisional visa, plus comprehensive evidence of compliance with condition 8579 throughout the three-year qualifying period.
Eligibility criteria
Held a regional provisional visa for three years
The applicant must have held a Subclass 491 or Subclass 494 visa for at least three years calculated from the date of grant of that visa. The three years run from the visa grant date, not from the date of arrival in Australia.
Compliance with condition 8579
The applicant must have complied with condition 8579 throughout the regional provisional visa period. This means principal place of residence, principal place of work, and (where applicable) principal place of study were all in a designated regional area.
Three ATO Notices of Assessment
The applicant must provide copies of three Notices of Assessment, and any amended assessments, given by the ATO under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, in relation to three relevant income years during which the applicant held a regional provisional visa. There is no minimum income figure on the NOAs.
Substantial compliance with other conditions
The applicant must have complied substantially with all other conditions of the regional provisional visa, including 8578 (notification), 8580 (evidence on request), and 8581 (interview on request).
Health and character
All applicants must satisfy public interest criteria including health and character requirements. Police certificates from each country of residence for 12 months or more in the last 10 years are required.
Family unit members
Family unit members who held the regional provisional visa with the primary applicant may apply combined with the primary 191 application. Each must meet relevant criteria including, where applicable, compliance with 8579.
The income threshold question
Confusion around 191 income requirements is common. The original 2019 regulations and explanatory materials anticipated an indexed minimum income threshold for the 191, but no threshold was prescribed by legislative instrument at commencement and none has been prescribed since. The current position is that there is no minimum income threshold for the 191.
The applicant must, however, file tax returns and obtain three Notices of Assessment for income years during which the regional provisional visa was held. Failure to file tax returns may not only delay the 191 application but may also signal non-compliance with conditions of the underlying 491 or 494, where regional employment is part of the substantive obligation.
Where income through the qualifying period was low or intermittent, the applicant should still file returns to obtain the NOAs. Low income figures on NOAs do not, by themselves, defeat a 191 application. Absent NOAs do.
Documenting 8579 compliance
The most common ground for 191 refusal is insufficient evidence of compliance with condition 8579 throughout the qualifying period. The Department evaluates compliance holistically, but the assessment is evidence-led. Sparse documentation creates doubt; doubt creates refusals.
The categories of evidence that ordinarily resolve 8579 compliance are: residential leases for the qualifying period (continuous, at regional addresses); utility bills (electricity, gas, internet, mobile) at those addresses; bank statements showing regional transactions and direct debits; employment contracts and payslips at regional employers; tax records reflecting regional employer ABNs; and where study was undertaken, enrolment records from a regional educational institution. Where any category is missing or interrupted, the surrounding evidence must do more work.
Brief absences from a regional area for holidays, work travel, training, or emergencies are tolerated. The Department will generally seek further information where absences exceed approximately 90 days in aggregate per year or 60 continuous days. Documenting the reason for any extended absence and the maintenance of regional ties through that period is essential.
Speak with an immigration lawyer about your 191 application
We review your three-year compliance evidence, identify gaps, advise on documentation strategy, and prepare the application to a litigation-ready standard.
Book a consultationIf 8579 compliance is contested
The Subclass 191 regulations contemplate that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify a class of persons for whom non-compliance with condition 8579 is excused for the purpose of granting the 191. This is a class-based mechanism, not an individual waiver. It applies only to persons captured by an instrument that the Minister has made.
Where compliance is contested at the visa stage, the consequence is generally refusal of the 191. Refusal of an onshore 191 application triggers merits review rights to the Administrative Review Tribunal within 21 days. Judicial review to the Federal Circuit and Family Court is available within 35 days on grounds of jurisdictional error.
Where 8579 compliance during the underlying 491 is doubtful, the strategic question is whether to lodge the 191 with the strongest possible evidence and accept the risk of refusal and review, or to seek alternative pathways. Either route requires legal assessment of the specific circumstances.
Common questions
Who can apply for the 191?
When does the three-year period start?
Is there a minimum income threshold for the 191?
What evidence do I need to demonstrate compliance with 8579?
Can I move anywhere in Australia once the 191 is granted?
What if I had to move out of a regional area during my 491?
Information current as at 30 April 2026. The Department of Home Affairs publishes the current 191 criteria at homeaffairs.gov.au. The legislative framework is in Schedule 2 Part 191 of the Migration Regulations 1994, available at legislation.gov.au.